Ever since the 1900s Hong Kong has been the main 'sales counter' for China where any notable vendor of fine art and luxury goods – such as the Levy brothers - had to have a presence. This timepiece is something of a rarity – gold watches with a painted back were not common and usually came as Lepine versions; watches with a spring lid, the so-called 'hunters', with two sets of fine enamel work were more than twice as valuable and rarely ever sold.

Levy Hermanos in Hong Kong traded in watches, instruments and eventually even automobiles; they conducted business in Manila, Hong Kong, Singapore and Paris. Levy Frères ("hermanos" in Spanish) were the brothers Adolphe, Rafael and Charles Levy. They were among the first Jewish families in the Philippines. During the Franco-German War of 1870 the brothers fled from the village of Marckolsheim in the Alsace-Lorraine region via San Francisco in California to Iloilo in the Philippines. Over the years the company opened branches in Shanghai, Tientsin, Port Arthur, Kharbin and Bombay. Source: https://watch-wiki.org/‌index.php?title=Levy_Hermanos_%28Fr%C3​%A8res%29, as of 03/02/2016Stand 02.03.2016 #42285